A few years ago, my beloved alma mater Bryn Mawr hosted a “Civil Rights Icon and Prisoner’s Rights Advocate” at a forum in honor of Black History Month. That “Civil Rights Icon and Prisoner’s Rights Advocate” is also known by these titles: “fugitive,” “Communist,” and “member of the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted List.”

Her momma knew her as Angela Davis.

When I heard that the school that took a whole lot of my parents’ money was, in turn, giving money to a woman who played a key role in the murder of a judge and the maiming of a prosecutor (yes, I know she was ultimately acquitted of the charges) I seethed with anger. How dare they!, I thought. Allowing this terror-monger to speak at my college, as if she were a legitimate spokesman for anything other than her twisted world view, made me more nauseous than anything I’d eaten at Haffner Dining Hall back in the ‘80s.

And then I got a grip, calmed down and realized that freedom of speech was a fundamental principle of an open society, and in order to protect valuable expression, we also needed to give a full airing to trash, as long as that trash was neither obscene nor an incitement to violence.

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Fast-forward to 2014. This year, another Seven Sisters college is hosting a woman who, in my opinion, carries a message as dangerous as it is worthless. Barnard College has invited Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards to be its commencement speaker in May. For Valentine’s Day this year, the baby that Gov. Ann Richards’ didn’t abort posted a controversial photo on social media suggesting that abortions were a perfectly romantic gift for a guy’s (careless) sweetie. Most of the student body agrees with Richards’ message that babies are disposable and the uterus is a no-trespass zone. And among those who disagree, a majority still believes that she should be given a platform to speak.

I agree, too. There is always a spot in the marketplace of ideas for anarchists, communists, terrorists and abortionists.

Sadly, it appears the one group of people who are personae non grata in the public square is conservatives and, more specifically, conservative women. Of course, conservative men are not exactly embraced with open arms, but the ladies who lean rightward are particularly galling to the so-called intelligentsia (and one of these days someone will explain to me how narrow-minded liberal ideologues can lay claim to any word with ‘intelligent’ in it.)

The most recent example of the liberal intolerance for diversity happened at Brandeis University (what is it with institutions that start with the letter “B?”) which disinvited controversial feminist scholar Ayaan Hirsi Ali to give its commencement address in May. Reacting to a crusade (or is that jihad?) initiated by Muslim students who objected to Ali’s widely known criticism of their faith and culture, the university rescinded both its offer to speak and an honorary degree it intended to bestow on the Harvard academic fellow.

In backing down, the university stated that “We cannot overlook certain of her past statements that are inconsistent with Brandeis University’s core values. We regret that we were not aware of these statements earlier.”

One of the greatest justices ever to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court, Louis Brandeis, must be gagging from his celestial cloud. The university that bears his name has just exhibited three things: (1) stupidity, (2) ignorance and (3) a disdain for the principle that supposedly animates academia, full-throated, passionate freedom of expression.

It is difficult to believe that the university did not know of Ali’s positions on Islam. She is famous precisely because she has pilloried the religion in her books and speeches and had a fatwah on her head because of her “insult” to Mohammed. The woman had to flee the Netherlands to escape the same fate that befell her artistic collaborator Theo Van Gogh, a man who was murdered while riding his bicycle to work. Ali and Van Gogh had worked together on a film that was highly critical of the violent aspects of this “religion of peace.”

But even if the university didn’t know of Ali’s outspoken views, it should never have withdrawn the invitation to speak. Make no mistake: this was not a cabal of conservatives fighting to silence a courageous and controversial woman. It was a fearful, pantywaisted administration cow-towing to the demands of a censorious group of students.

I hope they inaugurate an award for spinelessness, and give it to themselves at the next commencement.

Or, another idea, perhaps they could enter into a cooperative program of interdepartmental study of the roots of cowardice with Rutgers University.

That august institution across the river had its own encounter with censorship when a bunch of overheated faculty protested the nomination of Condoleeza Rice as commencement speaker. Some of the teachers tried to explain it away by saying they didn’t oppose her speaking but, rather, her getting an honorary degree.

The fact is, they don’t like the fact that the first female, African-American Secretary of State (appointed by a conservative, by the way) was being given an opportunity to speak. Much like Ebony magazine, which didn’t want Rice to appear on its cover, Rutgers faculty had the academic equivalent of a hissy fit and circulated a protest petition in an attempt to get Rice booted from commencement.

Fortunately, administrators in New Jersey have stiffer spines than their counterparts in Massachusetts (must be the wudder.) As of this writing, the university has confirmed that Rice will still be speaking. Not to fear, however. The students and their sensitive teachers can still register their protest in much the same way students at Boston College did in 2006. They can turn their backs.

And this strain of intolerance is alive and well and festering in our own backyard. Swarthmore, the same place that expelled a student for rape after initially finding no evidence he’d committed the act, coerced last year’s commencement choice to withdraw.

Robert Zoelick, a Swarthmore alumnus also was scheduled to receive an honorary degree but decided to voluntarily withdraw as a speaker when students began protesting. Zoelick had served as a deputy Secretary of State under George W. Bush and had also been associated with a neoconservative think tank that had — you guessed it — supported the incursion in Iraq.

I guess it’s not surprising that a school which makes students disappear, even when they were never convicted of committing a crime, is equally capable of making key portions of the Bill of Rights disappear, as well.

I can understand disapproving of messages. I think Angela Davis never paid the price for her actions. I think that Cecile Richards has a warped view of life. They would never make my Christmas card list. On the other hand, I’d never try to silence them.

And I suppose that’s why I’d never make it in academia, where the silencing of conservatives is golden.

Christine Flowers is an attorney and Delaware County resident. Her column appears every Sunday. Email her at cflowers1961@gmail.com.